"Lionel Richie"

25:49So whatever the subject is, that's the most important thing. It's called the hook. so if you write all night long or you write hello or whatever the case may be then if you have the hook you'll write now the verses it's only four lines per verse but you have to go back and put that together my problem was I would never write the verses until the Commodore said we like it because there's nothing worse than finishing a song and you get halfway through now you spent your whole life on this thing and all of a sudden you say, we hate it, next. Yeah, right, right. So I would just go, here's the hook.

26:28I'm not going to put any more work in. I'm not putting any more work in. But then the actual music for said lyrics just comes much later. You just figure out what melody might match this story. It's da-da's. It's all da-da's and occasionally you go, perfect example is lady, you know, I'm your knight in shining armor and I love you. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da, da-da-da. that's that. Uh-huh. You just don't know the words. You follow me? Yeah. You know, penny. It's almost like a call and answer. Yeah. You just kind of throw it out there. Now there's some, what we call God's words, which is while you're writing the song, some mumbles comes out in real words.

27:08Yeah. Well, you want to hold those as much as possible. Uh-huh. Yeah. Because that's the true essence of where the other side was trying to direct you, really. But what about the great luck that your ear has such, incredible taste in what a melody sounds like and you also have a voice that is incredible as well like you've got both of these enormous talents it's just it's it's uh perfect storm there are a few others but uh not many my god you you you have just um um done my gratitude mantra first thing i get up in the morning the last thing i say at night you know how did it ever happen to me holy crap.

27:51I mean, you know, you think about very serious things in life and you don't really think about it. It was someone said years ago, when you're 19, 20, 25 and you win Wimbledon and you go, wow, you know, where are we going to eat tonight? Yeah. And then you turn 50 and you go, I won Wimbledon? You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Well, it's only looking back that you realize, holy crap. what was that all about? I'm so glad that you, we ask people that sometimes on the show, do you allow yourself to pat yourself on the back and appreciate where you are, where you've been, where you're going, all that stuff.

28:34It sounds like you've got such a healthy relationship and perspective on your life and your gifts. And that was going to be my next question. You seem like such a lovely man. Would you tell that to my kids, please? I would suspect, JB, if I can jump onto your question before you finish it and just say, what I noticed is you mentioned early on that you got all your old buddies back and where you grew up and that you're really still in touch with, I forget it was, Fungus. Oh yeah, Fungus. Fungus is Among Us. Fungus and Among Us and all these guys. And I think the idea that you stay so in tune and in touch with them probably has a lot to do with getting their perspective that you have.

29:19Yeah. The beautiful part about this now, when I tell you how long we've known each other, then you're really going to know how strange it is and wonderful at the same time. I've known these guys since preschool, elementary school, high school, college. No way. Wow. That's really cool. I mean, honestly, and by the way, every month we have a Zoom call together. Oh, that's great. Really? And we talk about, just like you're sitting here talking now, we've got Zoom calls and we're sitting there talking about what you're doing and what's happening and who's doing what and what hurts you. Sorry, Shani, but my question was going to be really more about like the, how many times did you, was it ever tempting?

30:02Because we live in such a permissive culture and business, you know, like you're allowed to be your worst part often. Right. Um, and was it, were you conscious of making the choice to stay as, sorry to use the word again, lovely as you, as you are, you know, like it could, because it's, it's easier. It's to be lazy and to be nasty and to allow people to sort of, you know, clean up after you and care for it. Like, do you know what I mean? Like, there's just, it's a, it's a choice to stay kind. And I wonder if that was their struggles with that. Well, I'll be honest with you. I kind of grew up in a magical family a little bit here.

30:46I used to go back and ask my grandmother every day. I said, Grandma, how do you have so much wisdom? You know so much about life, but you've not been around the world. I've been around the world. How are you able to hold on to your core? And she said, if you learn how to treat people right at home, the rest of the world is easy. An asshole is an asshole. You know, and period. And so, again, we're in this business. It's called the entertainment business. We run across enough assholes every single day. So we kind of, the motto that I have, if you can spot one, you make sure you don't act like him or her.

31:31Yeah. We came across an asshole recently and let me tell you something. I'm not joking. And the three of us sort of appreciated getting that contrast of seeing that grade A, A-hole behave in a way. Gave us the perspective. And you know, it's funny. I was saying to one of my sons, my 15-year-old today, I was driving to work and I said, hey man, I said, we're just talking about moving through life. And I said, you know what, dude? If the only piece of advice I can give you is, no matter what, if you keep pushing out love, even in moments where you feel like you're not getting what you get, if you push it out, it creates a world where you get it back from the universe a million times.

32:12So love on people, be kind to people when you run into them, talk to people, not just here at home, we have a loving environment, but also out in the world and it will come back and your experience, and don't do it with the hope of getting a result, just do it. That's right. I had the wonderful pleasure of watching. We have to go, sorry. Sorry. That was the last thing. Kidding. No, go on, go on, go on. I had the pleasure of watching my dad. He was one of those guys that I just couldn't figure him out at the beginning. He would walk up to people and you could tell that he was a lover of people.

32:52And so he would come home some days and bring a man home to the house. and he would, Bert put on, that's my mother, Alberta, Bert put on another plate. This is Bill, Bill, Bert, Lionel, Deborah. And so he said, I'll be back. I'm going upstairs for a minute. And so here's the guy at the table, Bill, and it's okay. And so my mother starts asking questions. So did you, were you, do you work with Lionel? I'm a junior, so my dad's Lionel. Okay. So have you worked with, are you working with Lionel? No, no ma 'am. were you in the military with Lionel? No, ma 'am. Are you all friends from where he grew up?

33:34No, ma 'am. Well, where did you meet Lionel? Why are you here? He said, well, I just met him at Kroger's. So now my mother leaves the table to go upstairs and ask my dad. Yeah, who the hell is this guy? Who's this guy, right? And of course, Debra and I, my sister, we go upstairs to hear this conversation because we want to know too. And so what the conversation was, he's going to do a job interview tomorrow and he needs a suit. And my dad is reaching in the closet to get a suit that fits him and a tie and stuff. Wow, that's amazing. And my mother would say this argument, well, Lionel, it's one of your favorite suits.

34:18He says, I can get another suit. the man needs a suit to look the part Lionel I love that so much so you had a great example your whole life I was just telling somebody this story it reminds me so forgive me but it's just I love that and my grandfather my mom's dad who I was really close I was just telling somebody the last couple days this story he was a great guy and I was really really close with him and he used to bring guys back he'd help out he wasn't an alcoholic He'd bring guys back from a halfway house and make my grandmother make him a meal, and he'd let them work. He'd pay them, and he'd talk to them.

34:58He died at 97. Wow. Everybody who were his friends, his peers, had died years before. And I was just saying, the remarkable thing was that church was packed. Yeah. Because he did stuff for people, young people, all the time. I couldn't believe it. I was like, this guy's 97. This church is packed. Right. Yeah, that's so cool. You know? and it just... That's a testament to his whole life. Yeah. In college, I would bring guys home and no questions. Sean, we're just gonna, let's go to a break. Sean. Wait. Yeah, it was a whole different story. Oh my God, please, please let me come back. I want to come back to this part.

35:38I want to come back. No suits. No suits. I was giving no suits. No, you were taking off suits. Hey, listen, Lionel, can you, can you, ripping them off, Can we, you started, your first band was the Commodore. Your first big band was the Commodore. Can you talk a little bit about your experience, how that happened, and then how you gradually moved away and went on a solo career? Just walk us through that a little bit, if you don't mind. Well, yeah, I was going to say that's a whole session by itself. Well, okay, I'm back in school, and it's my freshman year, and of course, I run across this guy on campus, and he says, you know, do you play any instruments?

36:14And I said, well, yeah, I'm a fabulous horn holder. I didn't tell him that I brought the horn to school to learn how to play it, but he didn't ask that, so I didn't tell him. Horn holder. So, you know, he said, well, we're starting a band. This is going to be a freshman talent show. And basically what the freshman talent show was is that all the seniors and upperclassmen would come in and laugh at the freshmen. So, you know, we put this band together. And believe it or not, at the freshman talent show, we killed it. Killed it. We just surprised everybody. Wait, you guys just had chemistry? Just vibe.

36:49That's wild. And back then, all you had to play was James Brown, and you got it. So you guys covered a few songs. We did nothing but covers. And so the beautiful part about this was there was a guy in the audience who was in a band called The Jays, which is the seniors, the greatest band in the world on campus. And so these guys were graduating, and it was two guys that were going to stay around because they wanted to put a new band together, Michael Gilbert and Jimmy Johnson. And the next thing we got, a couple of guys, got phone calls. Hey, can you guys stop by? We want to talk to you about putting a band together.

37:28Well, to get a call from them was like it. Yeah. And so we put the band together. The next thing we know, we have a band called The Commodores. That's just nuts. That's just nuts. We played every sorority house, every frat house, every campus from here to there. And it just built from there. And then how did the songwriting start? So you're doing covers and all of a sudden you're like, hey, we should write our own tunes. Yeah. Well, that's a whole story. I mean, it's good, though, because, you know, we could cover everything. You want Sly Stone? We got Sly Stone. What do you want? Temptations?

38:03We're Temptations. You want Three Dog Night? We got Three Dog Night. Whatever you need, we can play it. And then it got to the point where we're trying now to figure out, okay, I think it's time for us to put a record out, right? It's going to happen. And so we started doing auditions. Well, we went to one audition that changed the whole trajectory of what we're going to do. And that was Philly International, Gambling Huff. And we went in and we played every song. We killed it. It's bam. We nailed it. And right after that, something happened. The guy came back and he said, guys, you all killed it.

38:39We said, right, we got a recording contract, right? He said, no. He said, what we were thinking the whole time you were playing was, because by the way, you sound just like Sly Stone. You sound just like the Timps. You sound just like, who are you guys? What do you sound like? Wow. And I said, ah. He said, I mean, we're just waiting on what you guys sound like. That was the mission of the only way we find out who we are is we got to start writing. Right. And then did you guys sit down and say, okay, well, what songs do we really like covering? Which are the ones we really explode with? You know, is it more of a sly sound?

39:17Is it more of a, yeah. Well, that's when the individuality came in. That's when the individuals started catching up. Some guys loved funk. Some guys loved, I'm a James Taylor nut. I was a Carole King thing. You know, I was a, you know, I could name it. But, you know, so I was over there. Then I realized, okay, I'm a Stevie person. I'm a Marvin person. You know, that was my wheelhouse. And then as time went on, okay, now I'm an Elton person. Now I'm a, you know, I was in that Piano Man kind of thing. Sure. And so I would kind of bring in those kind of songs. Now, the joke with all of this was if you want to get a record on the Commodore album, don't try to do anything up-tempo.

40:02because everybody had 10 up-tempo songs. So I figured my niche, okay, I'll bring the only slow song they have. Guaranteed I have a record on them. Because you got to come down a little bit to go back up again when you're putting together a whole album. You got to have that in the album. Gotcha. So the mid-tempo, I got the mid-tempo, killed it. I got it, all right? And as time went on, Brick House, we wrote that together as a group. But mainly the midsection of this whole thing was covered by, okay, I got you. So the only thing happening was when the slow song came out, that was the hit. Wow. And then in that time when you were writing those songs, when did you, because you also wrote some songs, like you wrote for Kenny Rogers.

40:50You wrote famously, you wrote Lady. You did? Yeah. God bless. When did you start writing for other artists outside of your own, you know? Well, Kenny was an interesting story because of the fact that it was not supposed to be for Kenny. It was supposed to be for the Commodores. Yet another slow song for the Commodores. He's doing air quotes, by the way, just for the listeners. Thank you. I forgot. Nobody can see this. And so what happens from here, the guys walk in and announce no more slow songs. Okay, so that eliminates the brother right here gone. And so now I decided I'm going to put out a religious song called Jesus is Love.

41:33So I went left of that and put out a church song. Meanwhile, I got a phone call from Kenny Rogers. Do you have one of those songs, man? I just need, right? And I said, Kenny, I have it, but I don't have time. We're going to go on tour, and I don't really have time to do this, but I'll call you when I get back. two weeks later the drummer falls off of his motorcycle if you can believe drummers and motorcycles and I called Kenny back and said I'm back from tour I got it right and so the song was called Baby that's all I had Baby I'm your knight in shining armor and I love you that's it and I walk into the studio with him and I'm used to pitching for Commodores.

42:24So he said, so where's the song you got for me? I said, Baby. No way. No, no, no, excuse me. He told me how much he loved his wife and at the time she said, he's a fool, she's a lady. I mean, a real lady. Okay, now what's the name of your song? I said, Lady. Work with baby. Come on, you gotta break your work. I love that. You know, when I was 24 years old, I toured with Kenny Rogers. I was a Christmas elf in his Christmas tour. you played a little elf and you'd come out and you'd bring him up and I'd sing that's right the microphone and a little gift box just give us a little taste Sean just give us a little taste well we'd open our the Christmas session with we need a little Christmas right this very minute oh boy handles in the window and then I was always high like every show I was high on my mind of course but Kenny was really nice he was a really good guy yeah that's all I have many many stories but not from that time right now I know He's that guy You could have stories forever I could talk forever Yeah Yeah, you guys were good friends for a long time Is that right?

43:28Forever Oh, really? Oh, that's great He's such a nice guy He was probably not only my friend But one of my biggest mentors, really We'll be right back

43:42And back to the show You wrote a lot of songs like All Night Long And Dancing on the Scen A lot of sort of party Were you part of a party vibe? I was the party animal. What are you talking about? Were you? Yeah, you know what's so funny? I mean, everyone keeps thinking, oh, you know, Lionel, it's really nice because you're such a street guy. Listen, man, I hung out with P-Funk, okay? It's Parliament Funkadelics. I mean, you know, when you're in Rick James, I mean, come on, guys, that's the class. I mean, yeah, yeah. For sure. Where were these years? So you'd left Alabama. Are we in Los Angeles now during a lot of this, the Commodore stuff?

44:18I would say from 70 to probably 75 was like everybody's going to die or everybody's going to live through it. You know what I'm saying? This was in L.A. or were we in New York? It's across the country. L.A., New York, you know, we were all touring. Sure. But the only guys that didn't make it till late was the Commodores. P-Funk was already in motion three years before we made it. Wow. And so, you know, Bootsy Collins, I mean, think about this. This is an era where, you know, to get the phone call and say, I'm sorry that so-and-so died, that was everyday occurrence. Right. You know, but at the same time, you know, you ask the question, how did I get through it?

45:02You know, it's just the fear of dying, you know, because that's what's at the other end of everything you want to try there. But it was such an amazing period because you got a chance to see either what you want to do or what you shouldn't do or, you know, because what's the end result? You're going to die. So, not too much to think about. I wanted to ask you, you know, I watch a lot of documentaries and one of the best ones I've ever seen in my whole life was The Making of We Are The World. And I know that people probably come up to you now because it just came out like a year ago or two years ago.

45:35God, time is flying. Yeah, it was one year ago. Tracy should know that, Lionel, you wrote that with Michael Jackson. Jackson, right. Right. And as I'm watching, I'm so sorry to bug you about it. Please bug me. I'm sorry enough. It's just incredible that you, with Quincy, put that group of people together at a time when there were no cell phones, no computers. It was literally just phone calls, and I hope they call back, and then I hope they show up. I hope they show up. And they did. And it's one of the most famous songs in the history of the world. You know, what was that like taking that on?

46:16I mean, it's a massive mountain to climb. There's such a wonderful feeling of naive. There's such a wonderful feeling of you don't know it's going to be a disaster. You know, because there's a certain time in your life when you go, this is going to be the greatest thing in the world. You know, and you just hang on to it. And by the way, when we finish this song, we're going to save the world. We're going to wipe out hunger. I mean, think about this. We're all there to wipe out hunger, and this is going to happen. And then we started getting into the process of doing it after we finally get all these fabulous artists together.

46:53I mean, that one night was a mountain and a half to climb. One night. One night. What time did you finish? Like 5, 6, 7 in the morning? It was 7 o 'clock, 8 o 'clock in the morning. We didn't start until 2, because I was hosting the American Music Awards. Oh, the American Music Awards, yeah. Oh, my God. So from 7 that morning to go into rehearsal the following morning, I had rehearsal all the way up until 5 o 'clock for when we went on the air. We go on the air. I do the American Music Awards. When it's over, excuse me, by the way, in the middle of all this, won six of these crazy awards. And then at 1 o 'clock in the morning, drive over to A &M Studios and we've got showtime.

47:42I mean, from that point on, I'm walking in the door and are they there or not? And you have to explain the song probably cold to all of them, right? And this is going to be your part and this is going to be your part. All they had was if they got a cassette. Think about that. If you got the cassette, you're doing good. Right. Most of them showed up just saying, okay, it's Quincy, Michael, Lionel. Okay, I'll be there. Most of them didn't hear the song until they got there. So that just shows you blind faith. And you just stayed up all night. This is the mid 80s. I wonder how you guys stayed up all night.

48:14It's crazy to think. And in the great words of my dear friend, okay, now where are the drugs? We were talking about Roscoe's chicken and waffles. He said, yes, that sounds good. Where were the drugs? So then you were up for 24 hours, maybe 25, 26. Yeah, yeah. And that was called the, But we didn't fall apart until about 10, 11 o 'clock the next day. Yeah. Because now it's over. It's out. The baby's born. You know, we have it. You know, now, of course, we got to put it together later. But the fact is, the hardest part was getting it on tape. Yeah. That was the hardest part. And then how was the, its reach and its effect, the desired effect was accomplished, yes?

49:01Oh, killed. The money that it earned and the hunger that it alleviated? Yeah, it's still playing. It was beyond, beyond. I remember calling Quincy on the phone and I said, okay. They were saying, you know, we raised$10 million. Wow, okay,$10 million. We did$20 million. $20 million. Wow, wow. We did$30 million. $30 million. $30 million in 1980. Wow, that's like forever, you know. So I remember calling Quincy after we got to a crazy number and I said, Quincy did, we say we're going to give half the money away or all the money. And Quincy said, don't try it. Don't try it, Skeet. Don't try it. They'll run us out of town.

49:39Hey, Sean, out of curiosity these days, what are you using to mop up hunger? Is it just a... I've just used my shirt or whatever kind of what I'm wearing at the moment. Like a sloppy joe or... You know, it was an impossible time. You have to understand, everything was... And I will say the next thing that made it work, no one saw it coming. Back then, we didn't have cell phones. We didn't have live streaming. So no one saw this coming. So we can sneak up on the world. And so they didn't. I remember watching those, watching you guys and watching Band-Aid and all that stuff and thinking like seeing all these superstars together.

50:19Because we didn't have social media, because we didn't have any of it. You were like, oh, my God. and there's Lionel Richie and there's Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen and Cindy Lauper and you just go down all these people and they're all in the same room? It was a mind blow. Get this, all in the same room with no managers, no lawyers, no glam squad, no nothing. It was like, and I refer to it as your first day of elementary school. Right. And your mother dropped you off, you know, and you got to go in and kind of deal with the rest of the kids on your own. I mean, Dylan was about to have a heart attack, but Bob showed up.

50:55Let's make that very clear. You know, Springsteen, we're all there. Stevie's, we're all there. Ray Charles, we're all there. And we had to kind of walk in and get used to each other. Did you see a few of them at the AMAs earlier and then say, hey, I'm expecting you in a few hours. Take it easy at the party. I saw a few. Yeah. And the ones that were coming off tour made it difficult. In other words, Stevie, okay, I got it. Michael, okay. But is Dylan going to show up? Yeah. I mean, he's not known for, like, is he, he might, he might not, you know. Springsteen's coming from his last concert in Madison Square Garden.

51:35Wow. Wow. But what am I saying? Stevie was in Philadelphia. Yeah. There's a snowstorm in Philadelphia. He might not get out. Wow. Follow me? Yeah. And by the way, we have no cell phone to know exactly where he is. Right. But you've got contingencies as far as like, well, then Cyndi Lauper will sing this verse. I mean, it could have been the train wreck of life. Yeah. It was wild to see Waylon Jennings walk out. By the way, it wasn't wild at all. Waylon was true to his. Waylon was, he was walking on ice just a little bit because he was there because of Willie. Right? He really said, it's going to be great.

52:13And everything was fine. You know, good old boy, he's ready to go. and then we started, we're going to put some Swahili in there. Stevie walks in and the point we said was, don't veer off course. Well, Stevie didn't get that memo. And so what happened was Stevie comes in and says, we need a little, some African phrasing. Tutu, why no, no, Willie Moingu. Right, I remember that. Tutu, why no, no, Willie Moingu. And we said that about three times and Will had said, ain't no good old boy ever sang no Swahili. I'm out of here. And he left. No way. And the joke was, it wasn't Swahili, but it didn't matter.

52:52It didn't sound like good old boys, so I'm out. But we all, when Willie said, well, there goes Wailing, I said, okay. Wait, wait, wait. I want to know what the, speaking of the sort of nonsense or words, I think it's an all night long where they go, there's that part that goes, Oh, Tom Bolite said the mocha. What is that? Yeah, Jumbo Jumbo. It's a wonderful phrase that has gone around the world that means absolutely nothing. Say it again, say it again, say it again. No, wait, wait, say it, say it. Tambolite said de moya. Yeah, Jumbo Jumbo. With the pate, oh, we go with. Oh, Jumbo Jumbo. Tambolite said de moya.

53:35Right? Now, here's the joke. The joke was I am now trying to find some African stuff, right? And so I go in and I go, let me call the UN. I figured I would call out and I said, I need, how stupid I was, I need some phrasing from African dialect that says infectious party. And the guy said, Lionel, there's 101 African dialects. I said, okay, so let me get this straight. So one part of Africa, he says, one tribe doesn't know what another tribe is saying. Thank you very much. I hang up the phone. I call my friend from Jamaica. I said, when Bob Marley says, Yeah, boy.

54:21What is he saying? He says, absolutely nothing. It's like scatting. You follow me? Okay, so.

54:31Nobody knows what the hell that is. Okay, great. Thank you very much. Hung up the phone. Tamboliti says, Yeah, license. That's amazing. That is so awesome. So people stopped me. I couldn't tell you for the first year, people would say to me, man, this is so great, man. You tie in the mumbo with mumbo-jumbo-jumbo. And they're trying to tell me what it means. I don't want to tell them it means nothing. But I went along with it. And then finally I just had to let the cat out of the bag. That's great. I love that. How often are you getting out there enjoying all the love that you deserve from the crowds?

55:07Are you still enjoying getting out there and performing live? You do a bunch of dates still? People ask me, you know, how long does your tour last? I said, it's been going on since 71. Yeah. So how it works is very simple. We just came off of a European tour, 34 dates, from London to Germany to you name it, U2, O2, the big arenas and a couple of stadiums. And the fact is, it's still happening. I mean, the point is, it's still happening. So when you walk out on stage, there's 100 ,000 people. You walk out on stage, there's 40 ,000 people. And the beautiful part about where it is now is that when I forget the lyrics, I just go, come on.

55:54And here we go. And it gets to the point now where it's even getting to the point of the Rocky Horror Show. They know all the parts. And the next thing they do, they walk out with the mustache, the hair, the afro, the whole thing. And those are the girls. Those are the ladies. So it's really like coming to, I did Glastonbury, which is the whole center of the book. The book starts at Glastonbury and works back. And there's 200, let me give you that name, 200 ,000 people dressed up like Lionel Richie. Wow. And it starts there and goes back to the beginning of, that's where the book is, what it's all about.

56:39And so how did I get there? And when you see the security guards break out dancing, that becomes, okay, this is a happening. And so, you know, it's really the journey. The book is all about the journey. Yeah, the longevity and the level of quality that you've maintained for so long is just so astonishing. It's really admirable. Yeah, it is. You're such a, like I said, you're such a heavyweight. You're just an incredible talent. And we just admire the heck out of you. And your book truly is on sale September 30th. And I urge everybody to get out and read it. And I read a bunch of parts of it. I can't wait to read it.

57:25It's so interesting. Your story is so fantastic, man. And you bring such positivity. You've got such a positive vibe. It's infectious. I love it, yeah. And I'm an MTV baby, so I grew up on you. And you know. This is a little surreal to me. It's really, really cool. Well, first of all, I want to thank Will for inviting me. This has been more fun and aha discovery yet again. But it's wonderful to be able to kind of stay here at the other end. First of all, to be alive, clothed in my right mind is probably a phenomenon in our business. Normally what you have at the end of this is, well, when I came out of this clinic or when I came out of this rehab or when I – Sure.

58:08The trick is just kind of surviving this business because it's treacherous, as you well know. And so being a positive light, I found that there's probably one, well, three simple words. I love you is what the whole world wants to hear. That's right. So I didn't plan it. That's not me planning. It's just I happen to get that mission to use those words. And it's serving me and the world well. Welcome. Congratulations on keeping your light bright all of these years and untarnished and shining it on all of us. We really appreciate it. Thank you for the hour you hit us. Thanks for being here. The great Lionel Richie.

58:50Thank you very much, guys. What a pleasure, pleasure, pleasure. And I hope our paths cross. I promise. Somewhere if you see me out, just come over and tap me on the shoulder and say, hey, it's me, Will, Sean. Jason, come on. Hey, Rich, you know. We're going to take you up on that. Thank you, Lionel Richie. Thank you so much. Continued success. Great fun. This book truly comes out September 30th. Lionel Richie, thanks for joining us, man. Love you guys. Thank you, Lionel. Love you too Thanks so much Bye, Pop Love you Bye I feel bathed Me too Right? Me too Isn't it awesome when you meet somebody like that Who just brings like positivity And you get like I love it Contrast Like just I don't know You know, a lot of musicians that we've had on the show I don't know what it is If they've found the thing at such a young age That they love to do That it feels It might sound really cheesy But it seems like they're so connected to their spirit and they're so joyful.

59:45Remember when Alicia Keys was on? I was just going to say, she has been my favorite guest because of her light and her energy. And he is a co-edit. Those are my two favorite interviews. Lionel Richie and Alicia Keys. Yeah, those are very good. I think that you're right, Sean. I don't think it's cheesy at all. I think there is something about musicians in that way that makes them special. Like you're connected to something. I don't know and then they emit that light by the way you know I ran into out here you're gonna love this shot I forgot to tell you I ran into I was at this thing and all of a sudden I fell on the top of their shoulder and he goes hey Will it's Dave from Depeche Mode and it was so funny the way he said Dave from Depeche Mode wait he was there he was a sweet guy yeah yeah he was this was like a couple weeks ago and I go hey man and we just no way he died by the way you know who's coming to the show on Wednesday who goodnight Oscar Mark Hamill no way wow Oh, God.

1:00:42Is Scotty working on his outfit right now? Are you going to wear a Depends?

1:00:50Or two. Oh, God. Honestly, I can't get over that Lionel Richie, though. Yeah, amazing. And that we know, like I said, I was such an MTV guy. I would see him in all the music videos. And the Hello video, I was going to say, and it became more beautiful because the video with the blind girl, I don't know if you guys remember that. but it was about this blind woman and it was beautiful. Anyway, I loved that. The number of hits that guy has had, he's got to be up there near the top as far as number one. It's like 150 million records sold worldwide. And he's that guy. And he's like, hey, what's going on?

1:01:29Yeah, hey, what's going on? He's had like 10 or 12 number one hits. It's insane. Yeah, and he's still touring and it seems like he's 35 years old. No kidding. He looks amazing. I know. I know. What an inspiration, man. I want to come back as Lionel Richie. I know. Do you think he'll write a sequel to the song Hello? What would you think it'd be called? What kind of a name would you think he could give to it? I mean, if you were going to do a second part. That's weird. Where would you even start? I would probably start, my first line would say, Goodbye! Is it me you're not looking for? We would get your nuts out of the vice first.

1:02:17Goodbye! Bye! Bye! Bye! Smart. Nice.

1:02:30Smart. Nice. Smartless is 100 % organic and artisanally handcrafted by Rob Armjarf, Bennett Barbaco, and Michael Grantary.

1:02:48Smartless.